boyst Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Doc had recently sent me a PM asking about how beef is graded and this was my reply. I am an advocate for healthy eating and can provide some good details about beef. Considering the stats show we eat almost 100 lbs. of beef a year per person I thought it might be worth passing this along to let some of you know a little bit more about what you're eating... I hope to put some light on a subject that is surprisingly ignored. First, the idea of USDA grading is to sum up the composition of the meat to give it a grade of palatability. The higher the grade the better the beef one would believe but it depends on the type of beef, its uses, and a variety of other factors I will touch on in a minute. Beef is graded by texture, coloring, fat content, fat distribution, maturity, and firmness/feel. The fat distribution, also known as marbling is done in the ribeye at the 13th rib. This, obviously, does not fully recognize the animal but can give an accurate representation. Many feed lots are able to customize their feeds to create larger and more "customized" ideal cuts. That is to say, with the right diet, producers can pinpoint certain areas to develop higher quality or higher yielding cuts, rather they be steaks, roasts, or ground beef. As a grassfed beef farmer I do not have to worry about marbling. There will far less fat on a grass fed steer or heifer due to their diets then a process fed animal. Grassfed beef fat is also healthier for you, too. The maturity of most carcass' around this country is in group A. I would bet ALL of your steaks ate when dining out or purchasing at a local markets is in this group. I harvest my animals at 14-20 months, generally. The younger the beef the lighter in appearence the muscle will be - this is in direct correlation to the toughness. The darker the meat the more coarse it will be and the longer it will take to cook. All of those factors are put together to derive the USDA score. The next steps are a lot less known and generally considered a lot less important to the consumer because of it. Each carcass will yield so much beef and those that will yield the most are given the highest yield grade. The thickness of the boneless retail cuts, actually referred to as BCTRC, boneless, closely trimmed retail cuts determine the amount of meat each animal yields. Obviously, I want to produce the highest yielding % of beef per animal because I sell in packaged units. Some direct marketing farms will sell by the carcass weight which includes the bone and other non-meat poundage. Commercially produced/process fed beef will almost always yield in the top two grades but it can depend on the breed. Holstein steers will never yield as much beef as a continental beef breed, such as Charolais, Gelbvieh, Maine Anjou, Simmental, or Limousin. However, British Breeds, such as all Angus breeds, Shorthorn and Hereford are generally the same size as the Holstein but will yield more beef due to their makeup; basically, they're beef cows. The advatange of the British Breeds is that they mature much at a much earlier age, only needing to weigh about 1,000 lbs. versus the 1200-1400 lbs. in the continental breeds. They are easy to raise, being smaller cattle, many believe they calf easier due to smaller calves (40-70 lbs. vs. 85-120 lbs.), and yield a higher quality grade on average. Those are the important factors on why the Angus breed is so popular in this country, that combined with amazing marketing. What you do not hear is that Angus is higher in bad chloresterol, lower in good chloresterol, is more prone to disease due to poor breeding structures, and is less suited to live in climates that have consistent temperatures over 85 degrees in the summer (they are large black animals with a body temperature of about 102 degrees). When it comes to grass fed beef you are getting the benefits of animals foraging directly on high sources of vitamins and minerals. These vitamins and minerals are stored in the fat deposits and are consumed in the beef you eat. The amount of fat is significantly lower, as well, and as mean there is less chloresterol per unit. The good chloresterol is a higher % then processed beef and the bad chloresterol is lower. There are several types of amino acids that are more prevalent, as well. All of these factors combine to produce a more healthy alternative then processed beef. As a result direct market farmers do not rely on USDA grades for their animals because the amount of fat is generally lower then the process fed animal and does not constitute a major factor in the sale. That being said, a few researches have found that Charolais beef has more health benefits then chicken and is able to beat the leanness of it, as well. A good link I found if you have more questions: http://meat.tamu.edu/beefgrading.html If you are interested in obtaining some locally grown beef I encourage you to try doing so. There are great benefits to it, highest among them is buying in bulk results in a great deal of savings. I sell 125# for just over $600. The $/# is $4.85 and you cannot beat that on any steak or roast you find at your local market. Roughly 31% of that will be ground beef, 33% of that roasts, and 36% of that steaks. I hope I did not get too long winded and answered your questions. I am considering posting this on the board because I think some people could benefit from learning more about their beef. What do you think? Also, I will add a few other things while at it... The following are attributes to grassfed Charolais beef [and many of them are true for other grassfed breeds] • There are no antibiotics or hormones to grassfed cattle! • There are no preservatives! • Natural, grass fed Charolais beef is rich in Iron, Zinc, digestible protein and other minerals you cannot find in processed beef! • Grass fed beef contains all three of the Vitamin B complex, niacin, riboflavin and B12! • Charolais beef is naturally lower in calories! • High levels of nine essential amino acids are found in our grass fed beef! • Loaded with Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids! • Low levels of cholesterol and saturated fat! • Rich in Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), an antioxidant that is valued for its anti-cancer properties and the ability to reduce belly fat! • Our beef do not rely on silage or any types of processed beef! • High levels of Vitamin A (beta-carotenes) and Vitamin E If anyone ever has questions pertaining to beef, please feel free to ask. For the record, I am not trying to peddle my product on here, it is not my place to do so. This is SDS' board and am not going to use it for my business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 If anyone ever has questions pertaining to beef, please feel free to ask. For the record, I am not trying to peddle my product on here, it is not my place to do so. This is SDS' board and am not going to use it for my business. Go ahead and peddle away. As long as it's not called "Two Bills Drive meat," it shouldn't be a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted February 9, 2011 Author Share Posted February 9, 2011 Go ahead and peddle away. As long as it's not called "Two Bills Drive meat," it shouldn't be a problem. Calling it TBD Meat... wouldn't everyone expect it to come beaten, tenderized and sacked already? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeviF Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 Calling it TBD Meat... wouldn't everyone expect it to come beaten, tenderized and sacked already? rimshot.wav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muffmonster Posted February 9, 2011 Share Posted February 9, 2011 My father in law farms cows and pigs for more of a hobby then anything, so pretty much all we cook with is farm raised. Store bought meat can not compare. There is an interesting documentary called King of Corn that goes into how everything we consume comes from corn. Corn is not a natural diet of cows and can actually make them sick, but most commercial cattle are fed corn because it fattens them up. So they try to breed cattle more tolerant of corn, so they can get fatter more unhealthier cattle for everyone to eat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 My father in law farms cows and pigs for more of a hobby then anything, so pretty much all we cook with is farm raised. Store bought meat can not compare. There is an interesting documentary called King of Corn that goes into how everything we consume comes from corn. Corn is not a natural diet of cows and can actually make them sick, but most commercial cattle are fed corn because it fattens them up. So they try to breed cattle more tolerant of corn, so they can get fatter more unhealthier cattle for everyone to eat. Cows have a unique stomach that is designed to process and digest grass. they are grass eaters. Their system can not by itself process corn. As noted above, a corn diet will kill a cow. That is why cattle are pumped full of anti-biotics and drugs to stop the sickness and allow them to digest their corn diet. The biggest benefit that it only take 18 months to get a corn fed cow to the alsughter house instead of the 4.5 years it takes for a cow raised strictly on grass and greens. The massive corn diet causes all of the bad things that are now attributed to beef - like high fat, high chloresteral, omega-6, etc. grass fed beef is a very healthy food which provides a low fat, high omega-3 source of nutrients. and people wonder why 1 of 100 kids are now born autistic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 J-boys thank you for your post as it is very interesting. One thing that I am wondering is what radius from a farm would someone like you be able to sell and distribute without sacrificing the safety or quality of your product? For example, if I said I wanted to buy from you (I am in Dallas) would you be able to sell to me in a way that is appropriate for the both of us? I am not asking because I am trying to buy. Rather I am curious about the issue of how close do we really need to live to the source for the "system" to provide natural beef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spartacus Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 J-boys thank you for your post as it is very interesting. One thing that I am wondering is what radius from a farm would someone like you be able to sell and distribute without sacrificing the safety or quality of your product? For example, if I said I wanted to buy from you (I am in Dallas) would you be able to sell to me in a way that is appropriate for the both of us? I am not asking because I am trying to buy. Rather I am curious about the issue of how close do we really need to live to the source for the "system" to provide natural beef. the meat can be frozen and packed in dry ice allowing it to be shipped quite far in 3 or 4 days by truck if you are in Texas, you should buy from the Texas ranches that sell grass fed beef. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 the meat can be frozen and packed in dry ice allowing it to be shipped quite far in 3 or 4 days by truck if you are in Texas, you should buy from the Texas ranches that sell grass fed beef. Thanks but you are not getting to the reason for my question. Yes, I can buy grass fed beef here. What I am more interested in knowing is how much "reach" does the farmer have? Is it 10, 100, 1,000 miles or more? Another interesting thing to note in all of this is that you have to have someone able to process the beef. The day and age of a "local" butcher are long gone in many places. The deck is stacked against teh family farmer these days. Though, I suspect as more people realize the food they eat is unhealthy for them things may change. The question is, how long will this take? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boyst Posted February 10, 2011 Author Share Posted February 10, 2011 J-boys thank you for your post as it is very interesting. One thing that I am wondering is what radius from a farm would someone like you be able to sell and distribute without sacrificing the safety or quality of your product? For example, if I said I wanted to buy from you (I am in Dallas) would you be able to sell to me in a way that is appropriate for the both of us? If you can overnight it you can get it anywhere, and sometimes you do not even need over night... Packaging in dry-ice or even liquid nitrogen can get it anywhere you need, but expense becomes an issue. There are numerous models you can use in shipping, one of the most successful grassfed Charolais farmers in the country is located here in NC and he is able to ship throughout the entire country on a 5 day shipping plan. Using dry ice and a styrofoam container you would be surprised of the results. As long as you vacuum seal your bags you're set. I am not asking because I am trying to buy. Rather I am curious about the issue of how close do we really need to live to the source for the "system" to provide natural beef. Last I heard the nearest major slaughterhouse to the area I am in was located in Pennsylvania. Walmart has it's regional house in New Jersey, iirc. You may think, "but they're not natural," and unfortunately you're mistaken. Almost all companies choose not to use injected preservatives in their beef, including McDonalds and Walmart. However, what they do is create a false atomosphere inside of the package. I do not remember what the gas is but it is harmless; of course, there are claims that drinking out of a plastic bottle is harmless, too. Maybe this will help; the system of raising cattle in an average farm. The average farmer raises a steer, or even a heifer to a good weight at around 6 to 9 months old and then takes her to the stockyard. He/She will be bought by a feeder/stocker operation that deals with commercial cattle. They will raise the animal to finishing weight, usually North of 1100 lbs. Then the farmer will take a truckload of cattle that are built similar in frame, musculature, etc to better guarantee that all the harvested animals will yield a similar product. The packaging house does their job and the USDA works with them to grade the meat. The best meat is sold to those that want it while the other meat is sold to anyone else. The older and more poorly cared for cattle will often only be good for ground beef; these cows sell for the least both alive and in the package. The quality steers, graded Prime, will sell to the upscale marketplaces and restaurants. Thanks but you are not getting to the reason for my question. Yes, I can buy grass fed beef here. What I am more interested in knowing is how much "reach" does the farmer have? Is it 10, 100, 1,000 miles or more? I guess, it depends how you look at it now. I cannot produce beef on someones plate for the same price as Walmart or McDonalds can. Walmart will sell their ground beef for $1.99/lbs. I sell mine an hour away in Charlotte at $5/lbs. in a 1.5lbs. package. Without sharing some of my accounting I can tell you that even at double the price of what Walmart charges I would not be able to wear a shirt to do what I am doing. So, the effective range for a farmer just as easily 1,000 miles as it is 60 miles. Another interesting thing to note in all of this is that you have to have someone able to process the beef. The day and age of a "local" butcher are long gone in many places. There are roughly 4 packing houses I know of within 70 miles from me that I know of and none of them are closer then 40 miles. One interesting fact that still until this day in the state of North Carolina I can walk out with a gun, take down my animal and process it out in the field as long as I do not plan on selling the product. I don't know why, but that is just cool to me...but I would never do that. I name my cows, I remember many that I have sold and had harvested. I remember the few I've bottle fed be sold, I can almost remember touching all of them within minutes of their birth (weighing, steering, dehorning, tagging, cleaning them). The deck is stacked against teh family farmer these days. Though, I suspect as more people realize the food they eat is unhealthy for them things may change. The question is, how long will this take? That is a question I cannot answer. There is a commercial out now about kids playing soccer and being what they eat and it makes me laugh. My business model relies on grass-roots word of mouth. When I please one customer with a quality product they will tell others and I have found great success doing this. One family at a time farms like mine will be a part of the food revolution that is sweeping this country. We will always have our Taco Bell's and McDonalds, which I love, but we will learn that there is more choice then just getting a combo #1, Dr Pepper no ice, with a double-cheeseburger mayonaise and pickles only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 We will always have our Taco Bell's and McDonalds, which I love, but we will learn that there is more choice then just getting a combo #1, Dr Pepper no ice, with a double-cheeseburger mayonaise and pickles only. Thanks for your answer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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